Pierce Brosnan reveals he would reprise James Bond role in next 007 film: "Why not? It’s great entertainment"

When I read the scene where Ron is in the swimming pool with the ladies, I thought, “This is going to be nice. I get the joke. This is fun.” Then, when I got down to the set, I’ve got my dressing gown on and my silly shorts, and for some reason I was thinking there’d be lovely ladies in bikinis, and here I am with a dozen old girls and me as the old boy trying to ham it up. They gave me a rubber ring. I thought, “Oh, boy, all right. I’ll jump in the pool and act the goat.” Every day was a joy, because it was so well written. Each scene was a jewel.

What kind of pensioner are you?

When I got onto the set and everyone was white-haired – all these little cotton buds – I thought, ‘S**t!’ I don’t see myself as an old person, but I am an old man and there’s joy in that. The older you get, the freer you get, because mortality is circling the wagons. Within this story, there’s a lovely lyricism. These four people want to keep their minds active and they also deal with the death that will befall all of us. And it’s all wrapped up in a whodunnit.

Do you worry about getting older, about dying?

You hope and pray for courage for whenever that moment comes, so that you can carry yourself through it all. For now, I just greet each day with gratitude. Time past, time present, time future. That’s all it is. But I think it’s perfect timing for the books to be made into movies. There is such a great wealth of wisdom in the elderly community that we don’t pay enough respect to.

Would you do Bond again — is it time for a senior citizen 007?

My wife Keely [Shaye Smith] and I have been listening to the drumbeat of expectation of who’s going to be the next James Bond. There are many great candidates out there, and I’m sure they’re going to make it a spectacle of delight. I don’t think anyone wants to see a craggy, 72-year-old Bond, but if [next 007 director Denis] Villeneuve had something up his sleeve I would look at it in a heartbeat. Why not? It’s great entertainment. It could be lots of laughs. Bald caps, prosthetics… who knows?

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